Rami Malek’s Freddie Mercury Will Rock You In First Full ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Trailer

Finally, the Queen biopic acknowledges that Freddie Mercury was a queer man who slept with men. Well, sorta. After the first teaser trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody dropped, multiple critics including Bryan Fuller called out the film for “hetwashing,” or portraying the frontman as heterosexual in the trailer and synopsis. Luckily, the new trailer has shown that this movie won’t erase Mercury’s queer history.

In the first full trailer for the biopic, Rami Malek’s Queen frontman is asked about his private life during a press conference before the trailer cuts to a shot of him embracing a man. It’s not much, but paired with a later shot of him grabbing that same man’s hand, it’s something. Malek – who looks like one incredible Mercury doppleganger in the signature bristled mustache and tight white tank – rocks out on stage like no other as the trailer zooms through a greatest hits playlist. Despite all the worrisome things we’ve heard about this long-in-development project, Malek’s performance might just be worth that wait.

Here’s the full synopsis, which finally acknowledges Mercury’s AIDS diagnosis, whereas the last synopsis simply reduced it to “life-threatening illness.”

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

That synopsis, along with the official Fox trailer announcement, is missing any mention of a director. While Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle) took over directing duties after Bryan Singerleft the projectmid-way through, Singer will still reportedly be the sole credited director on the final film. Bohemian Rhapsody hits theaters November 2.